In the end
by keinermeiner
Summary: Ginny, Hermione, Harry and Ron in the Toskana. Five years after graduation they are looking for the good things in life.


Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to J. K. Rowling. Well that is not true though because I own the computer I used to bring this down. (Because I am in lack of a pensieve, so if you have one to spare..) Anyhow. J. K.? If you want the computer I am more than willing to trade.  
  
This is my first fic, so if you want to let me know what you are thinking about it just write me a mail to: knoll_martin@hotmail.com and you could also visit my homepage FanFic at its best  
  
A/N: Everything between ' ' means they are thinking this lines.  
  
Title: In the end  
  
Part 1  
  
Hermione waited longingly for her best friends oblivious to the stares she received by the young men walking by. Or maybe not so oblivious at all.  
  
They were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago but still had not shown up yet. She smiled and leaned back in her chair. It was nice to do this. Just sitting in a chair in a fancy little Italian restaurant on the main square of Lucca and enjoying the warm evening sun. This was life. And if only Harry and Ron noticed her new dress too she was happy. She loved the Toskana ever since her first visit here. Right after defeating the one who- must-not-be-named. Her parents took her and the Weasley's on a much needed vacation. From the first moment she set foot here she knew she loved it. Especially Lucca. The little town with it's medieval city walls and the uncountable little squares and alleys. And also all the churches. Romanic, gothic and renaissance. Every style possible. It was just lovely.  
  
'That's life' she thought again. 'It was not always so' she reminded herself. Just 4 years ago, they defeated the Dark Lord. Or as Ron said "We finally got rid off him." She still had to chuckle about this. And soon after this great victory the three of them graduated from Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Now four years later Ginny had finished her medi witch training and it was Harry's idea to come here and celebrate. He was also awed by the pure and untouched beauty of the land and had bought a nice villa here. The grounds also included some wine yards. He had made a lot of money by writing down his memoirs and was now even getting richer by buying real estates all over the world and renting them out. As far as she knew most of the wizard community now belonged to him and he even owned some nice places in the muggle world. After hearing how excited Harry was and seeing the glow in Ginny's eyes there was no hesitation. She just had to come. Well, being the head of the Department for Counter course research had some benefits after all. She just told her secretary to call her if necessary and after a quick last check she took off to here two weeks vacation.  
  
Now all she had to do was to wait. But just the moment she wanted to glance at her watch again, see saw the unmistakable red hair of a Weasley. Smiling a broad smile she stood up and turned just in time to be greeted by a more than happy looking Ginny and a breathtaking hug, from the girl. After she got over her surprise and also regained her footing she managed to choke out. "Ginny! I can't breath." Immediately the bone crushing arms went off and the blushing girl quietly said "Sorry". But she just shook her head at the other girl and smiled "It's ok. I'm also more than happy to see you. What took you so long?" The other girl wearing a short green top and black hot-pants just stepped sideward and poked her finger into a young man's chest. "He did!" He gave her a stern look while massaging his chest and than smiled at Hermione "Hi! Long time no see!" Saying she was shocked was not enough. She was dumbstruck. He was gorgeous. This was not the Ron she had last met two years ago. This was "Wow..! Ah, I . I mean hi!" was all she could say." 'Great! How embarrassing. I mean, this is Ron. And I am babbling like a little school girl.'. To her credit one must say, she never had seen Ron wearing such clothes before. It was a light blue shirt and shorts in the same colour. Normally he would wear things, no sane human being would match but now. She could feel how her cheeks started to glow with embarrassment but was saved by another male voice. "Hello everybody!" This was Harry. Unmistakeably. Harry was as always.. just Harry. Or as Ginny put it one time "Drop dead gorgeous!". Hermione could only agree with her. After seeing the two of them two years ago there never was an opportunity to meet again but they stayed in contact by owls. So she knew about the business they had started. Or at least Ron had started. After fighting Voldemort and almost getting killed in the process Ron worked as an Auror for two years but after putting Lucius Malfoy into Azkaban there was nothing left to do for him. Or to quote Harry here "It is no challenge anymore". So he quit and decided it would be nice to do something not mortal this time. He asked Harry for a loan and after getting it he opened his own Quiditch Academy. Harry watched this for a while and because he was bored at this time he joined him. Harry talked Ron into letting him help and said he could see it as a payback for the loan. They loved it.  
  
And it clearly did something for their bodies. Looking at Harry she could see it especially clearly because he wore just shorts, with the t-shirt sticking in the waistband. They both were good looking before but now it was just. She smiled at Harry and said "Hello to you too. You are late?!" He gave her an apologetic grin and smiled at Ginny. "Well. I'm sorry but there was some business I had to do on my own. Anyhow, now I'm all yours for the next two weeks. Shall we go then?" They all nodded and after Hermione paid her drink they went off to a small alley were they disapparated.  
  
Part 2  
  
There was a barely audible "pop" and the next moment four people were standing in the middle of the small clearing surrounded by big and old trees. After all that happened while being on Voldemorts list of arch enemies Harry was a little bit paranoid now. This could clearly be seen by the fact that every single one of Harry's houses and cottages was guarded by very strong curses. So it was for example not possible to apparate onto the grounds. In fact this meant they had a foot walk of nearly an hour laying ahead of them. But neither of them really had a problem with that because they all enjoyed each others company so much. While Hermione used the time to check out Harry and try to compare him with Ron, Ginny obviously enjoyed the view of Harry's six-pack a lot. And she did it so openly, even Ron could see it. After watching her for at least 20 minutes and wondering whether or not Harry willingly was risking his life she cleared her throat. "Shouldn't you wear your shirt, actually?" He gave her a smirk but after looking at Ron nodded "Yeah! Maybe you are right. I don't want to get burned by the sun." His eyes betrayed him and she could clearly see how much he enjoyed the scowl on Ron's face. Ginny on the other hand looked rather disappointed. She decided to change the topic. "Ron, how's business going on?" In less than a second his face was lightened up. 'Of course!' she thought. 'None of this two morons managed to say something nice about her new dress but you just mentioned quiditch and you got their undivided attention.'  
  
And while Ron started to tell her all the important and less important stories of his quiditch academy she watched Harry and Ginny again. They seemed so right for each other but they still were both single. After getting this confirmed by Molly Weasley just the day before yesterday she had set her mind. She was going to make sure they were together and leaving as a couple in two weeks. And everyone who know's Hermione can see the treat here. After an hour of pretending to actually be listening to Ron and watching Harry and Ginny chatting amiably away they reached the villa. It lay in the middle of a large garden which looked as beautiful as she remembered it. She could see some new olive trees at the spot in the right corner where Molly and Arthur Weasley had hold their second wedding but everything else was still the same. And the most important part of the garden was still the lake on the left. After all she had bought two new bikinis just for this two weeks. She gave the garden a last look and followed the others inside. The three of them were waiting in the main hall which had four entries. There were also some house elves which she knew where paid, just because Harry wanted to make her happy. One of the elves hurried towards her and said "Welcome back Miss Hermione. Welcome back. May I take your luggage up to your room for you?" She smiled at him and, after she gave him her bag, watched as he disappeared with it. "Well! Because there's just the four of us this time I told the elves to but our things in the rooms downstairs. On the left side of the hall are the girl rooms and opposite the boys. And I don't know about you but I'm boiling in my own juices and so I'm going to swim now." With this Harry turned and went to his room. "Well I guess I'll follow his lead then" Ron said and Ginny nodded. "Count me in". Hermione just shrugged and followed the younger Weasley to the rooms. A few minutes later they all met again in the great hall and satisfied she noticed the look on Ron's face after seeing her new bikini. On the other hand she was a little disappointed because Harry did not even look at her. That's what she thought. Much to her surprise he turned to her just before they were about to leave and said "Nice bikini Hermione. I guess it is as new as your dress?" Now she was downright shocked and all she could do was nod. And blushing of course. Behind her she could hear a giggling Ginny, comparing the look on her and Ron's faces after Harry's exclamation. Much to Harry's delight. Suddenly she was feeling like a teenager instead of a 21 year old mature. Moving faster she took Ron's hand and after he fell in step with her whispered "I guess they are trying to embarrass us. You think we should join forces and get them back for that?" Ron gave her a big smile "Of course. You already have a plan, haven't you?" "Well! No! But I am sure together we will work out something." He nodded and an evil gleam entered his eyes. "What would you say about throwing them into the water, just for a start?" "I guess it will have to do for now. Pity". And again there was an evil gleam. After they reached the shore they left their towels in the shadow of a tree and went down to the water. And just as Harry held a toe in to test the water temperature he was getting shoved forward and fell in, face at first. Next to him he could feel another impact and after breaking back up through the surface he helped Ginny up. Because the lake was missing a flat shore, the red haired girl was not able to stand on her own. And while being angry at Ron at first, Harry was calm now. Funny which effect a little Ginny Weasley clinging to you could have. He couldn't help but stare in her eyes while she had her arms around his neck and her body pressed against his. The feeling of something growing in his shorts snapped him back to reality and he was sure she could feel it to but she didn't seem to be disturbed by it. Had he just imagined it or was that a smile flashing over her face. 'Oh'. Yep! Definitely a smile. He could feel her pressing harder against his lower parts. It was so distracting, he didn't even notice when the laughter on the shore died away. And suddenly he leaned forward and kissed her. And wow this was a kiss! Ginny was not only kissing him back, no, she was also starting to move her body in circling motions which made the little quantity of blood left in his head running down very fast. But out of nowhere they were jerked apart and as he opened his eyes he could clearly see the angry look on Ron's face. 'Maybe because it's only a few millimetres away?' he thought amused. But suddenly realisation hit him. He had just kissed the little sister of his best friend and the boy found it clearly not funny. Remembering an important call he had to made for business he turned and swam like the devil was on his heels. Unfortunately this was not the devil but a really pissed Ron and so he was not fast enough. He closed his eyes and waited for death to come, but just in the right moment Hermione caught up with them and started to tickle Ron to keep him away from Harry, who once again proved, even so by sheer luck, why he was called the-boy-who- lived.  
  
Part 3  
  
Several hours later he could still hear Ron pacing the hall in front of his office, where he was hiding, telling him to come out and show 'gryffindor- bravery' while taking it like a man. Harry just told him there was a difference between showing gryffindor-bravery and being suicidal and checked over all the wards again to prevent the angry young man from coming in. Until now Harry thought it was amusing, considering the fact that the girl in question was more upset about her brother wanting to hurt him, than about him, the famous Harry Potter, kissing her. But as time went by he was done with all his daily business and still couldn't leave his office. Now it was just annoying. Like a miracle he could hear Hermione entering the hall and talking to Ron in an angry voice. After about five minutes of arguing he heard footsteps again and the hall went silent. He decided to wait for another five minutes before he was going to check whether or not they really left. But much sooner he heard a soft knock. "Who is this?" he asked. 'Great I have to be paranoid in my own house'. "Ginny! Mione distracted Ron for me but I don't know how long she can do it successfully. Let me in please." Harry hurried over and opened the door to let her slip in and closed it again immediately. "I brought us some food" She hold up a plate with fruits, cheese and bread on it. "But I'm afraid I forgot about the drinks" Grinning he went to a closet and opened it. "I just have wine in here. I hope that's not a problem with you?" Shaking her head she answered "No! No problem here" After picking up a bottle he also took two glasses and carried them to the couch she was sitting on, which was part of a sitting group in a corner of the room. "I guess we have to talk then?" he asked a little afraid of what was laying before him. 'Funny me! I can fight Voldemort but I'm worried talking about my feelings' A nod was her answer. There was silence again while he was filling their glasses with the red liquid but suddenly Ginny broke it. "What was going there, Harry? I mean, you always ignored me and my feelings for you while we were at school but now .? Are you doing this on purpose? Just to make me confused?" He just stared at her for a moment. And then he kissed her again. She was to perplex to react properly at first and it felt to good to slap him at second but she shoved him away nonetheless. Now he turned red up to his ears. "So ..? I'm waiting for an explanation Harry! And it better be good! Are you playing with me!?" That brought him out of his mood. "NO! No of course not! I'm not PLAYING with you! It's just. You see., you've changed so much. At school you were just a shy little girl with a horrible crush on me AND the sister of my best friend. But now. I mean look at you Ginny. You aren't shy anymore. You know what you want and you are a more than pretty young women. And maybe it would be better to just keep my mouth shut." For a moment Ginny just looked at him. And then she started to laugh. And after seeing the confused look on his face she just laughed harder. As she finally calmed down a bit he was looking grumpy for being laughed at. "Well if I had known, that all it needed to get your attention, was to hit on you I would have tried that before. I assure you." "So you are not mad at me?" "Why would I be mad on you? Just because it took you . what .? 7 Years? Just because it took you seven years to realise the fact you would like to date me? No, I'm not mad at you. I'm FUCKING FURIOUS!" She just stared at him for a moment but seeing the "puppy-dog-look" he was giving her, that was clearly stating "Please don't hit me!" she started to grin. "You are just lucky about me, being more angry with Ron for being such a prat, as for being angry with you because you are such an self-centred asshole Harry. Did you really think that kissing me would make me forget my question?!" "Well .! No ., I guess?! I mean . hey come on. I'm just a guy after all. We hate this "serious talk"-thing and I thought I could at least try." "And" he added as an afterthought "you have to admit I'm a good kisser." All Ginny could do now, was to look at him like he had grown a second head. And then they started to laugh.  
  
Part 4  
  
Meanwhile the other two had also found a place they both thought suiting for an argument like the one they knew was laying ahead. Harry's gym. "What do you think you were doing out there?" Hermione hissed at Ron after closing the door behind them and putting a locking charm on it. As Ron opened his mouth to answer she held up her hand and while he was waiting she put also a silencing charm on the room. Then she motioned for him to continue. And that he did. "What do you want to achieve by asking me such a stupid question Hermione?" he answered. "It was pretty obvious I think, wasn't it? Well, clearly it wasn't, because otherwise you wouldn't have asked. All right, so just for your information, I'm going to kill Harry. And you want to know why? Because he KISSED my sister! You understand? Or should I spell it for you? K-I-S-S-E-D. my sister. That's what I was doing." At first there was just silence. But after some time of glaring at him it became a little bit boring and she spoke again. "You do realise that she's not a kid anymore, do you? I mean think about it .! She is 20 for havens sake. So maybe you should start to think before you act. It could spare you some embarrassing moments." Although she finished this in a normal and steady voice Ron could see she was very angry and had to restrain herself from hitting him. But he had to admit, she had a point. There was only one problem. Even if his mind was aware of the fact that Ginny wasn't indeed a little girl anymore, his feelings a an older brother were still strong. This was surprising considering the fact, that they didn't even live in the same house anymore. While his sister was still living at the Burrow with her parents, Ron left his home after becoming an Auror to make sure his family was save if someone was coming after him. 'She's right' he thought. 'I don't even know what Ginny's doing at home. There could be many other men. Harry could be the last one in a long line and I don't even know it. And to make it all worse I was behaving like an asshole to Hermione also.' "Bugger!" was the first word said in the silence that engulfed the room after Hermione finished speaking. "Language, Ron" were the second. And then they started to laugh. After a while they needed to breath and Ron was the first to find his ability to speak again. "You know Hermione, I really hate it when you are right. But I think ., well I think I didn't think. Thank you for bringing me out of my state. And just now I'm realising how hungry I am. So do you think Harry will take us to this nice little restaurant he was talking about? The one in San Gimignano?" She really tried, but she couldn't do it. It was so hard to be angry with him. At it was even harder now, as she was still shocked because he had given in so fast and without all the yelling and fighting she had expected. So she did the only thing she could, she smiled. And nodded.  
  
Part 5  
  
"Conceited much, Harry? Maybe you should find someone who will be able to keep you on ground, shouldn't you?" Ginny said with an innocent face. "You know, I thought I made clear that I want you and not anyone else. By the way, I like the way you smile. You look like an angel." He smiled back at her. "Don't think you can change topic and my mind by making compliments about my smile, Harry." she answered but he could see she was flattered. "Well I don't want to change topic I just want to be with you and I will make every compliment necessary to achieve this goal." "Are you saying you see this as a challenge and the winner gets my heart?" she asked getting a little bit angry. "No! Of course not! I just wanted to emphasize how much I like you and that I will not rest until we are a couple. You see, this kiss opened something within me. A chamber in my heart if you want to imagine it like this. And there's only place for you." She was awed. "Wow Harry! I never knew you actually know about the concept of romance and flattery. Maybe we should at least try to go out with each other. I'm willing to give you a chance. And if it doesn't work out you will at least stop drooling over me." She grinned about that last statement, knowing it would piss him off royaly. "Hey! I'm for sure not drooling over you. Or at least just a bit. And you are a girl. So you have to be flattered. Stop making fun about me, will you?!" Harry was indignant. "And talking about dinner and going out. How about starting with it now? Because I'm really starving and there's still this little restaurant I wanted to show you." Just as Ginny opened her mouth to reply there was a knock on the door and they could hear Ron's voice. "Hey Harry! Hermione threatened me into being friendly with you again so you can open the door know. I promise I will not hex you and I also will not beat you up physically. But you could really show us this little restaurant you were telling us before." Smiling Harry approached the door and asked "Hermione? You are there? Because I'm not coming out if this is a trap." Their was some laughter before Hermione answered. "Yes I'm here. It's save to come out now. Don't be afraid." Only a few seconds later the door opened and Harry's head popped out. He gave them a uncertain look, checking whether or not the treat to his life was over. But before he could come to a decision he felt Ginny pushing him forward and fell into Ron's waiting arms. "Thank you Ron!" he said while sending the young women a death glare. "Oh come on! Don't be such a baby Harry! You fought Voldemort for havens sake. It's just Ron." And then she punched her brother's upper arm. "Ouch! What was that for?" he asked while sending his sister an angry glare. "I don't know. For being a brat maybe?" And turning to Harry she said "You see? Even I can beat him." Hermione watched this with unhidden amusement but as she received unfriendly stares from the two males she just shrugged. "Don't be mad at me now just because I'm also a female. Let's go and eat something okay?" Harry, glad for any distraction from being humiliated by Ginny, nodded. "Yeah! Good idea. Just take each others hands. I will do the imagination part of the apparating considering the fact I'm the only one knowing where San Gimignano lies." He smiled a little at their annoyed expressions and with a "pop" they were gone.  
Part 6  
  
They found themselves in a little alley in the upper part of San Gimignano and after looking around Ron turned to Harry. "Sometimes you are just as annoying as Malfoy you know?"  
  
Harry's mouth fell open. He turned around, searching for help because that was really mean. But the girls didn't look very helpful. They seemed to think in the same lines as Ron. After the initial shock went off he turned to his red-haired best friend. "You know I would never ever call you something like Malfoy. What have I done? God, do I deserve some friends like them? He even managed to sound a little whining despite the fact that he knew Ron was just teasing him. Ron smiled at this and Ginny even giggled. Satisfied because he got at least a little revenge on Harry, Ron jovially clapped him on his back and soon they headed down to the lower parts of the town. In Via Amore Harry led them trough a small opening in one of the walls and they found themselves in a beautiful little garden. There also was an oven and a pizza baker putting coal into it. After he gave them some time to admire the neat little garden and the wonderful view over the hills that are making the Toscana so special, an older man with a round face and a nice smile came over and greeted Harry cordially. "Harry, dear friend! Long time no see! How are you?" After getting out of the other man's embrace Harry smiled back. "I'm fine. Thank you. And I'm glad to see you're doing fine yourself. Well, anyhow. Let me introduce you to some friends of mine. This are Hermione, Ron and Ginny. Everyone, this is Silvio. He turned his back on the wizarding community a long time ago. But as he knows about us we can talk without restrictions here." They all said their hello's to Silvio and he came down to business. After handing out the menu's and writing down their drinking order's he left and Ron immediately asked: "Why did he leave the wizarding world, Harry?" "Well, I have to confess I don't know the whole story and what I know I heard not from him but from his daughter. It had something to do with Voldemort. I guess it is the same story as every time. Someone killed someone and another was heartbroken. A sad story repeating itself all over the world." "Yeah! But thanks to my Harry here not anymore" Ginny said proudly. "Oh wow. Now you are already her Harry" Ron teased while Harry was blushing furiously. "You already lost control over your life, huh? I guess I will not try to beat you up anymore. To be under my sisters control is bad enough." He added with a smirk. "Ron! Be nice!" Hermione was looking at him sternly. After seeing the look Ginny was giving her brother it now was Harry's part to start laughing. "Well Ron! It seems like I'm not the only one being under control here. And she's not even your girlfriend." At this the redhead was becoming even redder than his hair and he looked down. Somehow he suddenly found the tablecloth very interesting. All three of his companions wondered about that, even if it was for different reasons. It was sheer luck that saved him from further investigation, meaning a young blond girl with big blue eyes that brought over their drinks. After handing out the drinks she asked them about the food and left again. "She's pretty!" Hermione said. "Yeah! I agree!" Ginny added. "And she obviously knows you Harry!?" Ron snorted. "Of course she does. He is Harry Potter. Everyone knows him." "No. You don't understand Ron. It's a girls thing. She knows him ., uh. More personally, you understand? I mean, it was all in her look. She clearly begged him to threw her over the table and take her right now." Hermione said while shaking her head. "So! You already did this once to her, didn't you, Harry?" Ron upon seeing Harry's face becoming red again made the connection. "You .? You mean .? She and Harry .?" "Oh, bloddy heaven! Yes Ron! She and Harry had sex. Isn't it true Harry?" Ginny looked at him, waiting for an answer. Knowing there was no way out he nodded slowly. "Yes! But just one time. She's Silvios daughter you know." "Fine. So, what are we going to do tomorrow? I mean we should start with sightseeing. I want to see so much and we are only here for two weeks. I would like to start with Pisa. Is that okay with all of you?" Ginny asked. Ron just stared at her. "How can you be so calm? I mean Harry just confessed he had sex with this girl." "I know what he did Ron. But it was is the past and I'm sure she's not the only girl he had sex with, am I right Harry?" She looked at him clearly expecting a positive answer. "Because she if she is, I would be very disappointed. I would like to have an experienced boyfriend you know?" She winked at Hermione who was trying not to laugh at Ron's and Harry's shocked faces but it was very hard. "Well you know ." Harry trailed off. This was too much for poor Hermione and she started to giggle like a maniac. And even Ginny had to bite her tongue very hard to keep from laughing. Suddenly Harry felt really stupid and he decided to change topic. "You know you are right Ginny. We really should start the sightseeing tomorrow. And if you would like to start with Pisa it's fine with me. Although it seems like we have to leave Hermione at my house because she seems to be unable to stop giggling." As he shot her a death glare the girl in question started to laugh even harder. And hadn't it been for Ron who was fast enough to hold her she would have fallen of her chair. Not even Harry could be angry at her as he saw her this way. And he realised one thing. He was happy. No! He had to correct himself. They were happy. All of them. There was no Voldemort. Just life. And after realising this he joined her. Soon after, all four of them laughed. They stopped laughing as their food arrived and soon all of them, except Harry who already knew who good it was, marvelled about the excellent food Silvio made. Talking about everything and nothing the same time they somehow managed to reach a decision. The plan was to visit Pisa at first and Firenze at second. And after Firenze they had to plan their further trip. After finishing their meal Harry paid much to the others protests and the decision to go for a walk was made. Harry, who had been here several times before, was made the unofficial tourist guide and he obviously liked it. After travelling back home it was Hermione who found it was much to early to go to bed and so the disaster came over them. Harry, at this time thinking off it as an incredible smart idea, offered to open one of his best bottles of wine. But it was not done with just one bottle and when they finally went to bed it was a whole dozen of them.  
  
Part 7  
  
She awoke with a head, hammering like a train station had been build in it. But that wasn't even the worst thing. Her mouth tasted like she had eaten something long time dead. And her eyes hurt from the light although she hadn't even opened them yet. And there was also that noise. It sounded like a chain saw.  
  
Ok. Now she was irritated. Why in hell would someone use a chain saw in Harry's garden? After preparing herself for the initial shock she opened her eyes. And what she saw made her scream. And scream. And scream. Lying beneath here was Ron, and what she heard was not a chain saw, but his snoring.  
  
Well. At least the snoring had stopped. Her scream had woken him. Which was not that much of a surprise. She could have woken up the death by it.  
  
A few seconds later she heard a knock on her door. "Hermione? Are you all right?" It was Harry and she could hear the worry in his voice. "Yes Harry! I just had a bad dream. I thought I was lying next to a Neanderthal." she answered while glaring at Ron. "Oh! Ok. I'll see you later than." She could hear the irritation in his voice. "Yeah. See you later Harry." She didn't get a response. He had already gone back to whatever he was doing. She couldn't care less. She had to deal with the more urgent problem first. Ron! In her bed! 'I really want to know what he's doing here' she thought. 'Or much more important if we did something I can't remember'. Even as she thought about it she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. And after seeing the colour of Ron's face she was sure he had been thinking along the same lines. "Get out of here."  
  
Ok. This wasn't very nice. But it was all she could think of at the moment. Obviously Ron wasn't very disturbed by her snapped command. He just nodded and gathered his clothes before he left the room. Wait a minute. He gathered his clothes. Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh. My. God." It was all she could think about.  
  
After closing the door Ron stopped to gather his thoughts. While he leant against the wall he sorted the clothes on his right arm. 'Wait a minute! My clothes?' But the higher being responsible for this terrible joke wasn't finished yet. While he was thinking about the situation he realized one thing. 'I'm holding my boxer short in my hand, which means I'm naked.'  
  
With pure horror written over his freckled face he looked up an down the corridor, praying to every single god he knew about to let all the doors stay closed. And that they did. Thanking the same gods he prayed to before, for leaving him what little of his pride was left, he made a run like a madman to reach his room before the gods changed their minds. Dashing in and slamming the door closed he leaned against it, panting hard, but still happy to be safe now. While he was trying to catch his breath his eyes locked onto a red glimpse in the pile of clothes he was carrying. Examining it a little bit closer his eyes started to grow and he could fell the blood rushing into his cheeks. 'Hermiones thong? Bloody hell! But that means .' After realising what exactly that meant he groaned out loud and, after throwing his clothes on the floor, jumped on the bed to bury his head under the pillows.  
  
After Ron left at her command, Hermione tried hard to calm down and collect her thoughts. But whatever she tried, didn't help. She sighed and decided to take a shower. While the hot water massaged her sensitive skin, her mind focused on the task at hand. 'That's much better! Now let's think about this logically.' The first thing that came to her mind was how cool Ron had reacted. At first she had seen the red colour of his face and thought he was as shocked as she was. But after telling him to get out of her room he had reacted like nothing had happened. He didn't even seem to be disturbed by the thought of them having sex. Maybe he knew something she didn't. 'So he is comfortable with this? Well, I'll make sure to get some reaction from him on this. Two can play a game.' Hermione was the last one to show up for breakfast this morning. This wasn't surprising, because she took her time selecting the perfect outfit to make Ron squirm. At first there was some hesitation. She didn't want to be cruel but his cool demeanour this morning made her angry. 'All I want is a reaction. No matter what kind of reaction.' Now she wore a tight black mini skirt and a top that ended only millimetres under her breasts.  
  
As she stepped into the hall she knew it was the right outfit. Harry's jaw fell to the ground and Ron's eyes popped out of his skull. There was a long silence before Ginny elbowed Harry in the rips telling him there was only one girl he had to stare at. Ron on the other hand had a big grin on his face. 'Wow! I'm probably a lucky man. I don't know what we did last night but hey . Maybe I had sex with this gorgeous women.' At this the grin on his face grew even wider. For Hermione who couldn't hear his thoughts unfortunately, this it looked like he was grinning about her and it made her even angrier. 'You are so dead mister' But as she sat down on the table she had a smile on her face. "Good morning everybody!" It didn't matter whether or not she smiled while greeting them. Even Harry could feel the tension between the brown-haired women and the red-haired man. They ate their food in silence for at least ten minutes as suddenly Ginny jumped up and said: "All right! Enough! Hermione come with me. We have to talk. Harry, you talk to Ron!" And with that she walked out of the room. Hermione was as surprised as the others but knowing Ginny's temper she decided to play along and walked after her, leaving Ron and Harry at the table.  
  
Part 8  
  
Ginny led her friend to a small room next to the library. Hermione often wondered about the purpose of this room but guessed it was supposed to be a reading room. After Hermione entered Ginny closed the door and put a silencing spell on the room. "What is this all about? And don't even try to play dumb here. I know Ron wasn't in his room this morning because I was looking for him and he wasn't there." Hermione closed her already opened mouth again after Ginny told her not to play dumb. 'Great now I have to think about a new and better answer.' With a sigh she started again.  
  
"Well! You may have assumed it, Ron slept in my room this night." Hermione brought up her hand to stop Ginny from speaking and continued. "To be honest I don't know whether or not he just slept in my room AND my bed or in my room and with me." She finished and took a deep breath waiting for Ginny's reaction. And to her utter surprise the other girl just started laughing. Now Hermione was confused. "Why are you laughing, Ginny?" "And you think you're smart? You're not!" Think about it Hermione. Ron's just not the type of guy who uses a girl while she's drunk out. And for sure not YOU! He loves you and it can clearly be seen by everyone but you! I mean, hey. Even Harry can see it and we know he is a little bit slow in such things like love." Ginny just shook her head and headed out of the room leaving a very thoughtful Hermione behind.  
  
Meanwhile in the dining room Ron was looking very confused. "Talking to me about what Harry?" he asked. "Well." Harry trailed off. "I'm not really sure how to spill it to you but . You see, Ginny wanted to ask you something this morning and you weren't in your room. So she was looking for you but after Hermione screamed, even I knew your location. So, what was going on between the two of you?" Ron's first reaction was to become beet red in his face but then he answered. "To be honest. I don't know. I can't remember anything, but given the fact I was naked this morning and I found Hermiones thong between my clothes ." he trailed off. Now Harry was at a loss for words. He needed more than a minute to find his voice again. "Knowing Hermione, she would never take advantage of such a situation .". Ron just snorted at this. "Of course she wouldn't. She doesn't even like me that way. I'm just a good friend to her." 'He sounds almost angry here.' Harry thought. He snorted and shook his head as an answer to Ron's words. "I'm just glad you're more blind and insensitive than I am. I can use you as an excuse whenever Ginny's mad at me again." "What the fuck are you talking about Harry?" "Can't you see it Ron? She loves you. Hell! I mean even I can see it. It's pretty damn obvious, you know!?" The look on Ron's face was hilarious. Harry just laughed and left the room, leaving Ron with his own thoughts.  
  
Ron was still sitting in his seat when Hermione found him twenty minutes later. "Ron? Can we talk? It's important!" He nodded and she sat down next to him. After turning around so she was facing him she spoke again. "Ron, what happened this morning? Or should I better say this night? I mean I was ." 'I can do this. I'll just start it over again.' But before she could open her mouth, Ron spoke up. "Mione! Whatever you may think about this morning, I have to tell you something and I have to do it now." He held up a hand to stop her from speaking as he saw her opening her mouth. After taking a deep breath he spoke again. "I love you. No matter what you're saying or doing now, at least I told you and my heart feels lighter now." He smiled at her. 'Nothing to lose here, mate' was all he could think. Much to his surprise it wasn't only his heart that felt lighter now. He got the impression, that a whole mountain had been lifted from his soul. Hermione on the other hand was just looking at him, or to be precise through him. At first Ron didn't notice her stare because he felt so light and free but after some minutes the silence was a little bit disturbing. Just the very moment he was opened his mouth to ask her if she was all right, Hermione jumped at him. She threw herself at him, flung her arms around his neck and kissed him for what seemed like forever. After breaking apart they panted hard and took in some much needed air. They just stared at each other and started to laugh. "I love you too, Ron" was all Hermione could say before he kissed her again. And again. And again.  
  
Hiding behind one of the doors Harry just winked at Ginny before he pulled her in one deep kiss.  
  
The End.  
  
Authors Notes:  
  
Reviews are welcomed by heart. But please consider, that this is my first story ever. So be nice. And yes, I'm strong enough to take some critic. But no flames. I'll just delete them.  
  
I want to dearly thank my bet "she-who-doesn't-want-to-be-named" for all her input and the time she had to spent for this story. Even when we don't share some opinions, she gives me the impulses to keep on working.  
  
This story can be found on FF.net and my homepage FanFic at its best, but I'm more than willing to share. So if you want it, just ask.  
  
Thanks again for reading this all. 


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